When Bianca, now 44, arrived at that specific life juncture many women in their mid-thirties come to – the one where we take a good hard look at how we’re tracking both personally and professionally – she saved up enough money to take a career break and travel the world for six months. It had been some years since her mother passed away and Bianca had also been through a divorce.
“I was having a tough time, and for once in my life, I needed to put myself first,” she recalls to GRAZIA.
But when one of her friends suddenly cancelled on their joint plans to visit Singapore – and others just seemed disinterested in travelling altogether – Bianca, who was single at the time, decided to travel by herself and began her adventure in Japan. One evening, while dining alone in the little ski town of Niseko, her life completely changed course.
“It was snowing outside, and I was so tired from skiing all day,” Bianca recalls. “I went to my favourite restaurant for dinner and the whole place was busy except for one chair next to me at the counter. I remember a local skier, who was sat on the other side of me, kept talking and talking. All I wanted to do was leave but I was being polite and stayed a little longer.”
It was then that a restaurant staff member asked if it was OK for someone to sit next to her. Bianca nodded. She was, after all, about to leave anyway.
“As I looked up, I saw a handsome man who had the most beautiful smile,” she recalls of Kevin, a British traveller. “He said hello and sat next to me. My heart melted. We had a five-minute conversation about being in Japan by ourselves and he then asked if I would like to meet him and go skiing the next day. I said yes and we exchanged numbers.”
“We ended up spending four days together and had the most magical time,” she continues. “We skied, we laughed, we had so much in common. But was it too good to be true? Was it a holiday romance or something more?”
THE ALLURE OF DOING IT ALONE
While Bianca’s story may seem like a page ripped from an Elizabeth Gilbert novel, a new study has shown a significant uptick in females deciding to embark on solo adventures. Luxury travel adviser Virtuoso, together with the UK’s leading travel trend forecasting agency, Globetrender, have found that women make up 71 percent of solo travellers.
“The study also showed that 47 percent of solo female travellers are divorced, separated or widowed, highlighting a surge in post-partner or family-raising travel,” says Misty Belles, Vice President of Global Public Relations at Virtuoso. “In other words, travelling solo is liberating, allowing women to explore at their own pace and make their own decisions. Women no longer feel the need to wait around until someone is ready to join them. They feel empowered to make their own travel decisions based on what they want to do, where they want to go, and when.”
In Bianca’s case, her solo adventure led her to the love of her life. After trialling a long-distance relationship for six months, Kevin asked the Melbourne-based Bianca to move to the UK with him.
“We now live in London, we have travelled the world together and he proposed to me in Japan at the place we had our first kiss,” Bianca says. “We have been together for eight years, are now married and have recently welcomed our first baby girl, Lily Rose.”
“I never thought travelling alone could have put me on a completely different journey,” she continues. “It was like a sliding doors experience: if I never went on that trip alone, never sat at that table alone, if the local skier had stopped talking 30 seconds earlier, I would never have found my soulmate. Always take that chance on yourself.”
“To the woman who is reading this and thinking about solo traveling: give it a go, life can be magical.”
HOW IS THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY RESPONDING?
According to Belles, luxury providers are finding niches in solo female travel, focusing on personal connections, unique experiences and women’s specific needs. In time, she says, others within the travel industry will adapt and follow suit by offering more options tailored to women travelling on their own.
“AmaWaterways removed single supplements for solo travellers on select European river cruises in 2024, while Swiss travel network ASmallWorld launched the Solo Cruise Company, targeting women 55-plus,” she says. “In the small-group travel category, Intrepid Travel will debut its first women-only trips to Saudi Arabia in November 2024, in partnership with a local female-owned operator. Experiences include visiting Saudi women’s homes and female-only beaches. Meanwhile, start-ups like Mom’z offer ‘babymoons’ in Spain for pregnant women, and the Amilla Maldives resort hosted a ‘mid-life wellbeing’ retreat for perimenopausal and menopausal women in 2024.”
THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER
Sarah, 29, recently returned home to Australia from a solo trip to Italy and France. For years she had put off exploring other countries in order to focus on studying and her career. But when the COVID-19 pandemic removed the option to travel altogether, she regretted her decision. Nowadays, Sarah’s an avid solo traveller.
“There were moments throughout these trips that I remember thinking I’d have loved to share with someone, but I also didn’t want to miss out on them because I didn’t have a partner to travel with, or because my friends were busy,” she tells GRAZIA. “I do also enjoy spending time alone, so I knew that wouldn’t be a huge hurdle to overcome.”
While travelling solo challenges people to step out of their comfort zones and navigate new places through their own lenses, it also offers a sense of spontaneity around itinerary building, a liberty you don’t have when you have to accommodate other people.
“You have the freedom to do what you want, when you want, which is amazing,” says Sarah. “I had the privilege of spending every moment doing all of the things I had wanted to do – ticking every box off my checklist. I could schedule my day full of activities, or spend it reading on the beach. I could take myself out to a nice meal whenever and wherever I wanted. While I do, of course, do these things at home, I’m an easy-going person, and I tend to prioritise the preferences of others.
“I discovered that I’m not as indecisive as I’d thought,” she continues. “There were few, if any, instances where I was unable to decide what to eat, where to go, or what I wanted to do with my day. Yet making these decisions when surrounded by others is something I find challenging. I’ve realised it’s the people-pleaser in me that makes me so indecisive – that’s something I need to work on.”
A MATTER OF SAFETY
While there are so many wonderful benefits of exploring the world on your own clock, travelling alone, especially as a female, requires a certain level of vigilance. When Sarah travelled, she shared her location with her family, so they knew where she was at all times. Bianca chose to make Japan her first stop, given it is ranked one of the safest countries in the world.
“Women should research destinations, as certain places are often considered safer and more accommodating to solo female travellers,” says Belles. “It’s also important to only book with trusted hotels and utilise reliable transportation and tour operators. A Virtuoso advisor can assist with the planning and provide valuable guidance on the best choices for solo travelling, as they have connections all around the world with highly rated and trustworthy travel providers.”
Key travel advice for solo female travellers from smarttraveller.gov.au includes:
- Use only official, licensed and reputable taxis
- While in a taxi or car service, act as if someone is expecting you at your destination
- Keep your bag zipped and where you can see it on crowded public transport
- Avoid travelling in train carriages alone
- Avoid accommodation where entrances are in back streets or isolated locations
- Avoid booking a room on the ground floor
- Use a door wedge on the inside of the door when you’re in the room
- Don’t discuss where you’re staying when you’re out in public
- Guard the details of your travel plans. Don’t advertise you’re travelling alone
- Post to social media only after you’ve left a venue or hotel
- As in Australia, avoid walking alone after dark or in isolated areas
- Never leave your drink unattended or in the care of a stranger or new friend.
WOULD I BECOME LONELY?
Prior to her trip to Japan, Bianca was hugely concerned about being lonely, especially when it came to eating alone. It’s an anxiety a lot of solo travellers experience.
“Ultimately, I felt such peace and confidence in travelling on my own, it felt so empowering,” she says. “I went out for dinners on my own and met people who I would then go skiing with the next day. Everything I was concerned about went out the window. I wasn’t lonely at all as I met so many more people travelling alone.
“Travelling solo can be overwhelming and scary,” she continues. “But it opens your eyes to so much more than you know, and you end up experiencing things you may not have experienced had you had your friends with you. To the woman who is reading this and thinking about solo traveling: give it a go, life can be magical.”
This story first appeared on GRAZIA International.
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